Veneer clipper



D. E. HERVEY VENEER CLIPPER Dec. 30, 1952 Filed Aug. 27 1946 5Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. D- E. HERVEY I I) a:

ATTORNEY D. E. HERVEY VENEER CLIPPER Dec. 30, 1952 .5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Aug. .27, 1946 INVENTOR. D. E HERVEY ATTOR NEY Dec. 30, 1952 D. E.HERVEY 2,523,587

VENEER CLIPPER Filed'Aug. 2'7, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 II III u: .0 Ii ,11

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ATTORNEY I'll III I Illil/l/ i FIG IO FIG 11 I i i i I ii 120 no r lSPF/N6 500 2 Il HH HI FIG. 12

CONTROL 70 .56, FIG. 8 F01? Patented Dec. 30, 1952 David E; Hervey, OldFort, N. 0., assignor to Hervey Foundation, Incorporated, a corporationof Maryland Application August 27, 1946, Sei-ia lNo.'693;2 41 2 Claims.(01. 164 42) This invention relates to improvements in wood veneermanufacturing and particularly to an improved method and improvedapparatus for dividing large sheets of wood veneer into veneer pieces inaccordance with the various grades of veneer wood contained in theveneer sheets as they are removed from the logs, and for stacking thepieces and conveying them away from the veneer cutting equipment.

It is customary to produce wood veneer by turning logs in a latheagainst a straight veneer cutting knife having feed mechanism associatedtherewith which feeds the knife into the wood at a rate to produce acontinuous sheet of veneer of uniform thickness. The thickness may bevaried when desired by changing the feed rate of the knife. As the sheetof veneer is removed from the log it is placed upon a conveyor whichcontinuously moves it away from the lathe. A sheet of veneer as removedfrom the log usually contains defects such as cracks, knot holes anddecay which were present in the log from which the sheet was cut andthese defects recur at substantially constant intervals in the veneersheet as determined by the length of veneer sheet removed during onerevolution of the log. These intervals are not completely uniform,however, as they will become shorter as the diameter of the log isreduced; In order to avoid substantial waste of usable wood, thedefective material in a veneer sheet must be cut away in such a mannerthat a minimum amount of clear material is included in the piecescontaining the defective material. According to present practice, as thesheet of veneer leaves the lathe it is torn across at intervals by alathe attendant; The pieces of veneer sheets so produced may becomparatively long or, particularly where the Wood contains numerousdefects the attendant may tear the sheet across at each revolution ofthe lathe producing a number of comparatively short pieces of veneer.Where the long pieces are produced, they may be transported in thiscondition to a veneer clipper by means of which they are cut into piecesof desired lengths and the portions containing imperfections are cut outand discarded. It is the more common practice, however, to tear thesheet into the short pieces and stack these pieces one on top of theother to form a book. In forming the "{book an attempt is made to matchthe imperfections throughout the stack so that the entire stack ofpieces can be clipped together to remove the portions containing theimperreeucnsam divide the nea wood into pieces of desired length; It hasnot been found possible, however; to match the imperfections in such abook to any satisfactory degree and an excessive amount of clear wood iscontained in the cut out portions containing the imperfections, whilesome imperfect Wood is left in the pieces of clear or usable material.This method may result in a loss of usable wood of anywhere from 10 toper cent.

Where it is attempted to handle the long pieces of veneer and use theclipper to out only a single thickness the loss of time and labor isexcessive and there is also an unnecessarily large loss of usable wood.

Due to the infinite variety of defects, the infinite number ofdimensions between them, and the ever changing grade specifications forthe veneers produced, the conventional practice, :as briefly outlinedabove, inevitably results in excessive loss of time and excessive wasteof usable material.

It has also been found impossible to properly grade the material whenproduced according to conventional practice while at the same timekeeping production at a high level. The capacity of the clipper is agreat deal less than the capacity of the log turning lathe so that theclipper operator is working at all times under extreme pressure and evenwith his best effortit is frequently necessary to shut down the entireveneer cutting operation to prevent piling up an excessive overload ofveneer on the conveyor between the lathe and the clipper. While workingat top speed, the clipperman finds it impossible to accurately stop theveneer sheet at exactly the right point each time and the instantaneousdecisions he must make with regard to grading and saving of materialprove extremely fatiguing to the operator, wasteful of material andresults in confusion of grading and production materially below thepotential capacity of the equipment.

While veneer clipping machines have been proposed and utilized in thepast these" have proved unsatisfactory for various reasons andconsequently the manual operations as described above are stillextensively used in veneer producing operations and applicants inventionis intended to eliminate these manual operations and to materiallycontribute to the rapid and economical production of veneer.

Up to the present time very little has been done to relieve thissituation. Increasing the conveyor automatic multiple knife clipper withknives operated at 2" intervals by push button control has beenproposed. This minor change in the conventional practice has, however,had no important effect in solving the various problems indicated above,as it cannot materially decrease the waste and frequently results in adefinite increase, and can produce only veneer pieces of a definitelylimited small number of sizes.

The conventional practice, as is clearly apparto carefully inspect theveneer before it is cut,

make definite decisions as to the location of the lines along which thesheet is to be cut into pieces suitable for use, for marking orindicating these lines so that the veneer sheet will be automaticallyout at the desired intervals or, in cases where only one size or gradeof Veneer is involved, to predetermine the exact size of the pieces andset the clipper for automatic operation to cut the sheet into pieces ofuniform size as may be desired; and to accomplish the surveying, markinga and cutting of the veneer into pieces according to gradespecifications or predetermined size without at any time stopping theoperation of the veneer cutting lathe or interrupting the movement ofthe veneer sheet along the conveyor and through the clipper.

A further object resides in the provision of improved veneermanufacturing method and apparatus wherein the severed pieces of veneerare automatically stacked into stacks containing predetermined amountsof veneer and the stacks are automatically conveyed to predeterminedpoints of discharge, such as locations adjacent to drying kilns. A stillfurther object resides in the provision of an automatic veneer clipperof simple and durable construction capable of high speed operation underautomatic control and which does not interfere with the movement ofveneer along the conveyor leading to the clipper and through theclipper. Y 7

Another object resides in the provision of an aligning means extendingacross the veneer carrying conveyor providing lines parallel to theclipper knife to assist the operator in properly laying off the veneersheet into pieces of sound material of maximum area and in providing amethod of measuring the veneer sheet and separating it into units ofuniform arrangement of predetermined amount. 7

Yetanother object resides in the provision for reclipping the pieces ofVeneer which result from the foregoing operations wherein they aresevered either longitudinally with or perpendicularly to the directionof the grain either before or after the pieces are dried.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a plan view of veneer manufacturing apparatus illustrative ofthe invention;

Fig. 2, an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of the apparatusillustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a detailed isometric view of a projector 4- for projecting amoving pattern of grid lines onto the veneer on the conveyor andsuitable supports for the projector;

Fig. 4, a detailed isometric view of a set of fixed parallel linesextending across the conveyor and means for supporting them;

Fig. 5, a detailed isometric view of an electromagnetic pick up andclipper actuating switch;

Fig. 6, an isometric View on an enlarged scale of the switch meansillustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7, a plan View of a piece of veneer wood strip showing the mannerof locating marking bars thereon so that imperfections in the sheet willbe removed by the clipper;

Fig. 8, an elevational view of the veneer clipper showing a switch forautomatically operating the clipper to cut the veneer into pieces ofpredetermined size;

Fig. 9, a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the clipper mechanism in adifferent operative posi-- tion;

Fig. 10, an elevational view of a modification of the clipper andadjacent portion of the conveyor showing a photoelectric device foroperating the clipper in accordance with marks placed on the surface ofthe wood veneer;

Fig. 11, a plan view of a piece of wood veneer showing the manner ofmarking the veneer for removal of imperfections by the veneer clipper;

Fig. 12, an elevational view of another modification of a veneermeasuring and clipper actue ating device for measuring the wood veneerahead of the clipper and automatically actuating the clipper to out theWood into pieces of predetermined size.

With continued reference to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, theconveyor 2 is operatively positioned between a veneer cutting lathe 3and a veneer clipper 4. The lathe 3 may be of the form shown in mycopending application Serial No. 691,919, filed August 21, 1946 for WoodManufacturing, and the conveyor may be a conventional chain conveyorhaving three or more endless chains 5 carried on sprockets mounted onend shafts as indicated at 6 and driven at a substantially constantspeed by power means, such as an electric motor, not illustrated. Thechains may be supported between the end shafts by suitable idlersprockets or rollers in a manner well known to the art.

As the veneer is cut from the log in the lathe 3 it falls upon theconveyor 2 and is carried along the conveyor in the form of a strip tothe clipper 4. The length of the conveyor between the lathe and theclipper is made sufiicient to provide an inspection station for theveneer strip so that an attendant may carefully inspect the veneer whileit is on the conveyor, have suflicient time to properly estimate thevarious grades of veneer in the strip and lay the strip off intosuitable pieces according to the various grades present. In order tofacilitate the inspection of the veneer suitable illumination isprovided in the form of lamps as indicated at l and-8, carried bysuitable respective supports 9 and I0 at a proper height above theveneer tto provide the most desirable illumination. Between the lamps 1and 8 a projector unit I! is mounted on a support I2 and is driventhrough a suitable drive connection l3 from the conveyor to project amoving grid pattern of parallel lines onto the surface of the veneer asit passes under the projector. These lines enable the inspector orattendant to imveneer along which the inspector is working so that hemay conveniently mark the places at which the veneer is to be severed bythe clipper. The drive connection l3 may be of a flexible drive cablefor example, such as a tachometer drive shaft of conventionalconstruction.

By driving the flexible shaft I3 from the conveyor, through any desiredtype of variable speed gearing, the lines of light projected from theunit ll onto the travelling sheet of veneer may be made to move with thesheet at synchronous speed, thus giving the attendant adequateopportunity to make the desired marks.

The projector and supporting means therefor is illustrated in somewhatgreater detail in Fig. 3 and may include a moving screen or otherequivalent means to project moving lines of light.

Suitable fixed transverse lines M are provided across the conveyoradjacent to the clipper 4, a suitable construction for these lines beingillustrated in Fig. 4.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the support it for the lamp 8 has two portionsI5 and 15 disposed one at each side of the conveyor 2 and eachcomprising two spaced apart legs or standards. Respective guide membersill and I8 are carried by the support portions l5 and it at oppositesides of the conveyor slightly above the top surface of a strip ofconveyor supported veneer and substantially parallel to the veneerstrip. Respective slide blocks it and 23 are slidably mounted on theguide members ll and I8 and may be secured in adjusted position thereonby suitable means such as set screws as indicated at 2|. A plurality ofparallel wires 22 are secured at their ends to the blocks l9 and 2E) andstretched between the blocks and are positioned below the lamp 8 in sucha manner that the lamp will cast definite shadows of the wires onto thesurface of the veneer to provide the guide lines It. By means or" thesefixed guide lines the operator or inspector can check the positioning ofthe severing indications he has placed on the veneer and may also usethese fixed guide lines for manual control of the clipper if that formof operation should be desirable. For example, if itwere desired to usethe clipper to trim the ends of pieces already severed from the veneerstrip, the pieces could be clipped to desired uniform length by usingthese fixed guide lines as a measuring scale to determine the distancefrom the end of the piece to the clipper.

A suitable method of placing marks or indications on the veneer sheetsto predetermine the locations at which the veneer is to be severed bythe clipper is illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

In the example shown in Fig. 5, suitable bars of magnetic material, suchas steel, of relatively small cross section are secured together inpairs of parallel bars by suitable flexible connectors or straps. Thebars of one such pair are indicated at it and 2t and the flexibleconnectors at 25 and 26. The pairs of bars may be provided in sets inwhich the various sets have different length connectors so that the barswill be spaced at various predetermined distances apart. Such pairs ofbars may be laid on the edge of the veneer at uniform intervals toproduce veneer pieces of uniform desired size or may be used to indicaterelatively narrow portions of defective material which are to be removedfrom the veneer.

A device, generally indicated at 21, for removin the bars from theveneer is located immediately above the conveyor and in front of theclipper 4. This device may include a pair of spaced parallel rollers 28and 29 surrounded by a continuous flexible belt 30 of fabric or someother suitable material. The roller 28 is driven at a speed such thatthe belt 30 moves at substantially the same speed as the conveyor chains5 and may be driven from the conveyor chain drive or by a friction band30a in contact with the surface of the veneer. The roller 29 contains aseries of electromagnets having sufiicient force to pick the bars ofelectromagnetic material up from the surface of the veneer and carrythem around the roller and onto the upper surface of the belt 36 fromwhich they are deposited into a receptacle 3 I.

As the bars pass along the top of the belt 39 they contact a switchdevice, generally indicated at 32, comprising a plurality of rollers 33of electric conductive material supported on a tubular shaft as andinsulated therefrom. At one end the shaft carries a pair of slip rings35 and 3G and wire leads 3? and 38 connect alternate rollers 33 to therespective slip rings. With this arrangement, whenever an indicating baris brought in contact with two adjacent rollers it will complete thatportion of an electric circuit including the slip rings, the wires 37and 38, and a pair of brushes 39 and is. The brushes are electricallyconnected by wires 39a and 40a to a relay mechanism it which is in turnelectrically connected, in any suitable manner, by wires Ma and Mb withthe clipper so that the clipper is actuated to sever the veneer wheneverone of the bars contacts a pair of therollers 33.

As illustrated in Fig. '7, single bars may be used instead of theconnected pair of bars shown in Fig. 5. When the single bars are usedthey are laid along one edge of the sheet of veneer in position to markthe locations at which the veneer is to be severed by the clipper toremove portions containing imperfections or to divide the strip ofveneer up into pieces according to the various grades of veneer woodcontained in the strip. After the bars, as indicated at 42 in Fig. '7,are laid in position on the veneer by the veneer inspector they movealong the veneer and under the belt 36 and are picked up by theelectromagnetic means 29 and brought to a position at which they contactrollers 33 of the switch mechanism 32. The position of the switchmechanism is such that at the instant a bar contacts the switch rollers,the position at which the bar was placed by the inspector will bedirectly under the clipper knife- The bars pass under the switch rollersand continue along the belt 30 until they are deposited in thereceptacle 3! from which they may be removed by the inspector for reuseas the process of dividing the veneer strip up into suitable piecescontinues. A suitable clipper for severing the veneer strip is shown inFigs. 8 and 9. Such a clipper may be of relatively simple form having aframe comprising a pair of vertical standards 44 and rigidly mounted ona suitable base 46 and connected at their upper ends by a top beam orplate 41'. Intermediate the height of the vertical members a shaft 43 ispivotally supported thereby and carries a pair of parallel arms asindicated at so to the outer end of which is adjustably connected aknife bar or bracket 50. The bracket to carries a clipper knife 5! whichcooperates with the edge of a fixed shear plate 52 to sever the veneerstrip whenever the clipper isactuated. The shear plate is carried at theupper end of suitable standards 53 connected by brack ets as indicatedat 54 to the standards indicated at45 to constitute a rigid frame forthe clipper. The bracket member 55 suspends from the top plate 41 andpivotally supports a two-way electromagnet 56, the armature of which isconnected by suitable link 51 with a knife supporting arm i9. There arepreferably two similar electromagnets located one at each side of theframe and operatively connected with the respective knife supportingarms. The actuating circuit for the solenoids is such that when theclipper control switch or relay M is closed the solenoids 56 move theclipper downwardly to sever the veneer but when the knife reaches itslowermost position this circuit is automatically broken and a differentcircuit established which energizes the solenoids to quickly raise theknife and hold it in its raised inoperative position until the actuatingswitch is again closed.

A suitable veneer guide 58 is positioned above the shear plate 52 toguide the ends of the veneer and prevent the knife from raising the endof the veneer strip as the knife returns to its upper position and toinsure that the strip after being severed will continue to pass beneaththe knife and through the clipper.

A tiltable rack 59 pivoted at its forward end, as indicated at 60,receives the pieces of veneer as they are severed by the clipper anddeposits them onto a belt conveyor, generally indicated at El, whichcarries the veneer pieces away from the clipper and to suitablelocations from which they may be placed in drying ovens or kilns, asindicated at 62, 63, and 64 in Fig. 1.

The rack or table 59 has its pivoted forward edge disposed somewhatbelow the upper surface of the shear plate 52 so that as the pieces arecut from the strip they will drop onto the table. This table is urged toits upper or substantially horizontal position, as illustrated in Fig.8, by a suitable compression spring 65 and is moved to its lower ortilted position, as illustrated in Fig. 9, by suitable means such as thesolenoid 66.

At its end adjacent the clipper the conveyor 6| is supported on a roller61 having an axle 58, the ends of which are guided in vertical slots inrespective end blocks 69 and Hi. The axle is urged to its uppermostposition by suitable calibrated springs II and i2 and is moveddownwardly by the weight of veneer pieces stacked thereon by the clippertable 59. When the roller 67 has been moved downwardly a predeterminedamount corresponding to a desired weight of veneer pieces, a pair ofelectric contacts i3 and 14, Fig. 9, are brought together to close theelectric circuit energizing the motor '55 (Fig. 1) which drives theconveyor 5|. Energization of the motor will continue until the veneerpieces have been brought to the desired position along the conveyor andwill then cease either automatically or under control of a manualswitch, as hereinafter more fully explained.

As it is desirable that the clipper table 59 should not deposit anyveneer pieces on the conveyor while it is in motion, a relay switch 16is provided in the circuit which controls the solenoid 66 so that thissolenoid cannot be energized as long as the circuit energizing the motor15 is closed. During this interval veneer pieces will pile up on theclipper table and will be discharged therefrom as soon as the motion ofconveyor 6| ceases.

As illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, means are provided for automaticallycutting a large number ojveneer pieces to the same size. This means mayconveniently include a spring switch Tl mountedon a horizontal scale arm18 extending outwardly from the clipper frame. This switch may be heldat any selected position along the scale arm by suitable means such asthe set screw 19. A lever 89 extends downwardly from the switch inposition to be contacted by the leading edge of the veneer strip passingthrough the clipper. The edge of the veneer strip will movethe leversufiicient to close the switch which will then complete a circuit fromthe line wires 8| and 82 through the solenoid 56 and cause the clipperknife to operate. While the switch 11 is in operation it may bedesirable to discharge each piece of veneer from the clipper table 59onto the conveyor Bl. In order to accomplish this a lead 83 from theswitch wire 84 leads to the solenoid 99 completing the side of thecircuit from the line 8| to the solenoid and a second wire 85 leads fromthe solenoid to the wire 82 so that the solenoid 65 is energized eachtime that the switch I1 is closed. As explained-above, these circuitsare automatically interrupted when the clipper knife descends so thatthe spring 55 will immediately return the table to its upper andhorizontal position. A manual switch 86 is preferably included in thewire 8! leading from wire Bl to switch Ti so that switch I! may be putout of operation when desired.

When the switch H is not in operation the clipper table may be operatedby other clipper control means such as the switch 32 shown in Figs. 5and 6 and will operate in the same manner to deposit the veneer piecesonto the conveyor 6! while the conveyor 6| is not in motion and toretain the pieces during motion of the conveyor BI and deposit them ontothe conveyor as soon as the conveyor motion ceases.

In Figs. 1, 8 and 9 portions of suitable wiring circuits are shown, andit will be seen that the circuits of Figs. 8 and 9 are specificallydifferent. Thus, in Fig. 8, power supplied through a suitable controlpanel through the line wires L-l and L-2 to the solenoids 56, and alsothrough a retarding circuit taken through the branch lines 65a and 65bto the solenoid 66. It will, of course, be understood from the previousportion of the description that the solenoid 6B is actuated after theknife 5i has severed the sheet, and accordingly the electrificationshould be such as to delay the energization of the solenoid 66 untilafter the solenoids 56 have performed their function.

In Fig. 9, a variation of the circuit is shown to incorporate themicro-switch T! which is employed when it is desired to cut the veneerinto pieces of the same length. Inasmuch as this circuit has alreadybeen described, it need not be retraced. A suitable control circuit forthe motor 75 and cutout relay 16 is more or less schematicallyillustrated at the lower portion of Fig.

1. In passin to this figure, it may be noted that the relay 15 may be ofthe type which is energized whenever the motor 15 is runnning, and theenergized position is shown in Fig. 9.

According to Fig. 1, power for the motor 75 may be supplied manuallyfrom the line wires L-! and L-Z through the switch 8-! upon closing thisswitch, thus giving direct and independent control of the motor wheneverdesired. Manually controlled switch 8-2, when closed, makes poweravailable for the motor 15 through the armatures of a relay R-l, whichis in the circuit leading from the contactor points 73 and 14 andassociated wires 13a and 14a, shown in Fig. 9. It has also been pointedout that it may be desirable to provide automatic cut-off for the motorwhen the conveyor 6| has moved a pretermined distance. Such control maybe effected mechanically by a lug Bla clipped to the side of theconveyor belt, and which can trip the arm C-I of a normally closedcontrol switch C, bodily movable to any desired position along theconveyor stretch. This circuit may briefly be described as follows;

Upon the closure of contact points I3 and it under the weight of thesheets, current flows from a low voltage localized source of current,designated by the letter B, into the coil of relay R-i, normally closedcontacts of switch (3', and thence through the coil, armature and onecontact of a holding relay R-Z into the line Ma, through contacts M andI3 and wire 73a to the current source B, thereby completing an enerizing circuit for both relays R-I and R4. The armatures of relay R-Ithen close against their contact points to supply current from the linesL4 and L42 directly to the motor 75 through a circuit which by-passesmanual switch S-I.

As the load of veneer sheets moves away from the spring-separatedcontactors l3 and M, these contactors will open. However, uponenergization of relay R4, its armature moves to an opposite contactconnected to. line wire 13a, and thence into local current source B,thereby maintaining energization of relay R-'I and Joy-passingcontactors I3 and 74. As indicated in Fig. 9, current is supplied torelay [6 by tapping into lead ltd and through an auxiliary line 79a.Line its, as shown in Fig. 1, may be connected to line wire L-2 adjacentthe motor I5, while line Ta may be connected through a suitableresistance and a feeder line 76b to line L-I. Hence, whenever current issupplied to the motor 75, relay It will be energized and operation ofthe solenoid 95 thereby forestalled. It will further be apparent thatwhen the lug BIa strikes the arm CI to open the contacts of switch C,the local circuit through relay R-2 will be broken, thereby deenergizingboth relays R-I and. 13-2 to stop the motor I5, deenergize relay I6, andrestore the circuits to the condition they were assumed to be in at theoutset of this summary.

An alternative method for indicating the locations at which the strip isto be severed is illustrated in Figs. and 11. This method uses the samemoving grid pattern and fixed grid pattern as described above butinstead of placing bars of magnetic material on the surface of theveneer strip the locations at which the strip is to be severed aremarked with a suitable material such as chalk. The chalk may be applieddirectly by hand or may be applied by a device such as that generallyindicated at 89. This device comprises a stand 89 which supports apowder container 9i) immediately above the conveyor at one edge thereof.A discharge nozzle 9| leads from the container and an air bulb 92 isconnected to the container in such a manner that manual pressure on thebulb will discharge a sufficient quantity of chalk or other powderthrough the nozzle 9i to make a line on the surface of the veneer.

A combined light projection and photoelectric device, generallyindicated at 93, is positioned above the conveyor at a location suchthat it will be focused on the chalk marks or lines as they pass beneaththe device at or near the location at which the clipper knife severs theveneer. This device is mounted on a suitable support, gen.- erallyindicated at 94, and is electrically oonnected with the solenoid 56 bysuitable connectors and 9B. Leads 91 and 93 connect the device itselfwith the line wires 99 and I99 and a manual switch I9I is incorporatedbetween the device and the solenoid so that the device may be put out ofoperation when its service is not desired. For simplicity inillustration, the actuating solenoid for the rack 59, and theconveyorfor removing the sheets, have not been illustrated, as it isobvious that they may be included in the manner previously explained, ifdesired.

Preferably the photoelectric device is made color sensitive so that itwill respond only to a predetermined color of chalk or other mark andwill not respond to any variations of color or light reflectingcharacters of the wood itself.

Fig. 11 shows a manner in which marks may be located to eliminate theimperfections from the veneer, the marks being indicated at I92 on theveneer strip I03. However, the device may be used for dividing theveneer strip into pieces of equal size or into pieces of measuredlength.

In Fig. 12, there is illustrated a modified arrangement forautomatically dividing the veneer strip into pieces of uniform desiredsize. In this arrangement, a frame I04 is pivotally connected to asuitable standard or support I05 adjacent one side of the conveyor bysuitable hinge connections I09. Above the hinge connection the bracketI04 has a pair of arms I01 and I98 extending lengthwise of the conveyorin opposite directions, the arm I08 being materially longer than the armI91 and being provided with an elongated guide slot I09. A roller Hillis journalled in the end of the arm I91 and a corresponding roller IIIis journalled on a guide block H2 slidable in the guide slot I09 andadjustable along the guide slot by means of a screw shaft II 3 operatedby a hand crank H4. An endless belt I I5 of flexible material such asrubber passes around the two rollers H9 and III and carries one or moreprojections, as indicated at H6, positioned to actuate the lever I I! ofa spring switch H8 connected by suitable wire leads H9 and I29 with theclipper solenoid 56.

The rollers H9 and II I rest, when the device is in operative position,upon the surface of the veneer strip so that the belt H5 is driven atthe same speed at which the strip moves through the clipper. By changingthe length of the belt the intervals at Which the projection II 6 tripsthe switch I I8 can be varied so that veneer pieces of desired lengthcan be out. The length of the piece to be cut is accurately determined.by means of a scale I 2| along one side of the guide slot I 99 and apointer I 22 on the slide block H2.

By means of the above described arrangement, a strip of wood veneer orother sheet material can be divided at will into pieces as determined bythe various grades of material in the strip or can be automaticallydivided into pieces of desired uniform length regardless of gradevariation. The operation of the clipping mechanism is entirely automaticand is of sufiicient speed that the clipper will at all times keep pacewith the veneer cutting lathe and there will not at any time be anynecessity for discontinuing operation of the lathe to permit the clipperto catch up.

If desired, two sets of the above mechanism may be used adjacent to onelathe, which mech anism may be used simultaneously or alternately asoperating conditions may require.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isshown in the drawings and described in the specification but only asindicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: V

1. In sheet cutting apparatus, a conveyor for supporting and movin astrip of sheet material; a sheet clipper at the discharge end of saidconveyor; bars of magnetic material placeable on said strip to determinelocations at which the strip is to be out; electromagnetic meansassociated with said conveyor for removing said bars from the strip ofsheet material; and switch means operatively associated with saidelectromagnetic means operable by said bars to actuate said clipper inaccordance with the location of said bars on said strip of sheetmaterial.

2. In sheet cutting apparatus, a conveyor for supporting and movingsheet material; a sheet clipper at the discharge end of said conveyor;means placeable on said sheet material to determine locations at whichthe strip is to be cut comprising pairs of bars of magnetic materialheld in parallel spaced relationship to each other by flexibleconnectors; electromagnetic means associated with said conveyor forremoving said bars from the strip of said material and switch meansoperatively associated with said electromagnetic means operable by saidbars to actuate said clipper to sever said sheet material into piecescorresponding in size to the spacing between each pair of parallel bars.

DAVID E. HERVEY.

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